BACKGROUND | PDF: NATIONAL RICKETS SURVEY
Rickets was a disorder of growing children associated with bony deformities resulting from inadequate mineralization of growing bones. It was first reported in the mid-1600s1 from Europe. Glisson described the disease as bony deformity with curving of the legs. Treatment pattern changed over decades as sunlight (UV radiation) and cod liver oil were found effective in treating rickets in 1800s, and vitamin D was identified as the essential ingredient of this oil in the early 1900s .
Vitamin D supplementation made rickets a rare disease in the industrialized countries during the 20th century . However, at the end of the last century two striking things happened: (i) nutritional rickets became a widely seen problem in North America and (ii) its higher prevalence in economically disadvantaged parts of the world where vitamin D insufficiency was uncommon .
